Residents of Amatrice were trapped in the rubble as they slept as entire blocks of the city were destroyed.

At least 247 were dead and dozens more were missing when a devastating 6.2-magnitude earthquake rippled through central Italy early Wednesday, waking residents as it rumbled to Rome.

Entire blocks of Amatrice, a town near the earthquake's epicenter, were destroyed after the first tremblor struck around 3:30 a.m. local time in the mountainous provinces of Umbria and Perugia. Powerful aftershocks followed.

Amatrice was set to host its annual festival for its namesake pasta — spaghetti all'amatriciana — this weekend. The city center where the festivities honoring the dish — made bacon-like bits of cured pork jowl, pecorino cheese and tomato — is now reduced to rubble.

The death toll rose at daybreak when emergency crews rushed to find survivors in the hard-hit towns of Amatrice, Pescara del Tronto and Accumoli, digging into leveled buildings with shovels, bulldozers and their bare hands.

People stand along a road following a quake in Amatrice. (REMO CASILLI/REUTERS)

Aerial photographs of Amatrice showed it was virtually flattened by the 6.2-magnitude quake that was felt as far as 100 miles away in Rome.

Landslides tore through Pescara del Tronto and Arquata del Tronto, quiet villages separated by only two miles built into the lush hillsides of Marche.

Residents and rescue workers pulled people from collapsed buildings, including a 10-year-old girl who was found alive in the smoking ruins of Pescara del Tronto.

"She's alive!" neighbors yelled as the girl was pulled out and rushed to a hospital. There were no immediate details about her condition.

A man is pulled out of the rubble following an earthquake in Amatrice. (Massimo Percossi/AP)

At least five people — including a family of four — died when a building in the small town of Accumoli collapsed.

"Now that daylight has come, we see that the situation is even more dreadful than we feared, with buildings collapsed, people trapped under the rubble and no sound of life," Accumoli Mayor Stefano Petrucci told Reuters.

The initial tremor was followed by at least seven major aftershocks focused around Norcia, a town 70 miles northeast of Rome, where startled residents in the Italian capital reported swaying homes.

"It felt like the bed was on rollers," said American tourist Michael Gilroy, telling CNN he witnessed the chaos from his hotel in Montepulciano.

The earthquake knocked down power for more than 2,700 residents in the town and brought stone buildings tumbling to the ground near the city's center.

A woman wrapped herself in a blanket and sat outside the remains of her home.

"It was one of the most beautiful towns of Italy and now there's nothing left," she said, too distraught to give her name. "I don't know what we'll do."

A pair of Afghan refugees were reported missing and a woman and a dog were pulled out of the debris alive amid rows of demolished buildings.

"What can I tell you? It's a drama," Pirozzi added.

As news of the devastation reached the Vatican, Pope Francis skipped a catechism lesson and led pilgrims at St. Peter's Square in prayer for victims.

While the earthquake and aftershocks pierced through several centuries-old communities, Franciscan friars at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi reported no immediate damage following the tremors.

The USGS measured the first aftershock as a 4.6-magnitude near Amatrice and at least four more were recorded near Maltignano and Norcia ranging from 4.0 to 5.5.

A nun checks her phone as she lies near a victim laid on a ladder following the earthquake. (Massimo Percossi/AP)

The Italian earthquake institute documented at least 60 aftershocks in the four hours following the initial quake.

Frightened people ran into the streets in central Umbria and Le Marche regions shortly after the quake erupted.

In 2009, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake tore through central Italy and killed more than 300 people.

The devastating death toll sent six scientists and one government official to court on manslaughter charges for failing to communicate the risk of a major quake in the wake of numerous low-magnitude tremors, according to Agence France-Presse reports. The accused scientists reassured the public that the smaller tremors did not indicate an impending disaster.

All seven were found guilty in 2012, but their convictions were appealed two years later.